Founded in 1796 as Dublin's 'New Gaol', Kilmainham
operated as a prison until 1924. During its
history, the gaol contained not only ordinary criminals including women
and children, but also political prisoners.
During the famine, some people committed crimes in order to be admitted
into the prison, where they were at least
guaranteed a basic diet. The Gaol was so crowded in those years that
prisoners slept in the corridors.

Famous internees at Kilmainham Gaol included Robert
Emmet, Charles Stuart Parnell,
and the leaders of the Easter Rising. It was also used as a prison
during the War of Independence and its aftermath.

Fourteen leaders of the Easter Rising were shot in the
Stonebreakers' Yard; James Connolly, who had been wounded, had to be
tied to a chair to support him during his execution. The Rising and
their deaths marked
a turning point in Irish history.

The
nationalist politician
Charles Stuart Parnell was arrested in 1881 on a charge of "sabotaging
the Land Act", after he had criticised the British government's new
Land Act and warned of a possible violent
reaction. In April and May 1882, Parnell negotiated an agreement with
the British government known as the 'Kilmainham Treaty'. In this
unwritten agreement, Parnell agreed to co-operate in return for more
extensive land reforms. The British hoped that this
would put a stop to violence in Ireland, but just a few days later the
new Chief Secretary for Ireland, Lord Frederick Cavendish, was murdered
in Phoenix Park.

The first
executions of the
Easter Rebels took place in the early morning of the fourth of May
1916.
Patrick Pearse was shot first, followed by Thomas Clarke and Thomas
McDonagh. The marksmen aimed at white crosses affixed over the
hearts of the condemned men. Some of the executioners were issued with
dummy bullets so they would not know who had actually
killed the republican leaders.

On May 5th,
John McBride followed his comrades into death. Three days later, Con
Colbert, Eamon Ceannt, Michael Mallon and Sean Heuston were killed.
Sean McDermott died on May 12th.

The Irish
public had until this point been ambivalent towards the actions of the
rebels. Ireland was
engaged in the First World War on Britain's side at the time, and many
Irish men and boys had gone to fight. When the rebellion
unfolded, some members of the public were supportive towards the
British troops, and after the collapse of the Rising
the rebels were jeered and spat at in the streets of Dublin. However,
the executions changed the nation's mood completely.

The socialist James Connolly was the last of the rebels
to be
shot. His wounds inflicted during
the Rising had turned gangrenous, and he was not able to stand. He died
bound to a chair in the corner of the Stonebreakers' Yard.

Connolly was a former soldier who had joined the
Socialist
League in 1889. He moved from Scotland to Dublin where he founded the
Irish Socialist Republican Party. He also spent some years in America
where he continued to be active in socialist politics. Returning to
Dublin, he founded the Irish Labour Party in 1912, and after the Dublin
Lockout he acted as co-founder of the Irish Citizen Army.

Connolly was instrumental in persuading the leaders of
the
Irish Volunteers to go ahead
with the Easter Rising. On their surrender, he told his men "Don't
worry. Those of us that signed the proclamation will be shot. But the
rest of you will be set free."
Badly wounded, he was held in the 'Connolly Room' at Dublin Castle and
transferred to the Royal Hospital Kilmainham
before his execution.